In remote mobile mining operations, a train of mobile mining equipment comprised of one or more pieces of mobile equipment, may work together in mining and processing a mined resource material. Communication between the various large pieces of mining equipment is accomplished through a wired medium. Although wired systems can assist in the control and operation of mobile equipment, they also present many challenges. In general, wired systems are limited in their ability to support process control by the extent and availability of wired connections. In addition, with wired systems, an operator of the mobile equipment is at the mercy of the cabling required, which can reduce mobility, range of operation and range of motion of the mobile equipment. Cabling in a wired system is also susceptible to both physical and environmentally induced damage, including from inadvertent operator and equipment impacts.
In the context of large mobile mining equipment, wired systems are yet further susceptible to damage and operational and maintenance problems. For instance, large mobile mining equipment can have hundreds or thousands of I/O points, further complicating the cabling requirements. The result is that for a wired system the cabling requirements are often very substantial, with very large numbers of cables connected to the various pieces of mining equipment. In addition, when one wishes to relocate a train of mobile mining equipment, or swap out one of the pieces of mobile mining equipment, a vast array of cables forming part of the wired control system often needs to be disconnected, collected and then laid out and reconnected at the new mining operations site. Given the critical data and instructions that may need to be communicated over the wired system, reconnecting all of the cabling can lead to a tremendous amount of time spent recommissioning the mobile mining equipment to ensure that all cabling has been correctly reconnected.
There is therefore a need for a method and system of wireless control of mobile equipment that offers enhancements or alternatives to the manner in which mobile equipment, including mobile mining equipment, is controlled and operated remotely.